A Halloween Adventure at Alnwick Garden and a trip to Barter Books

I visited Alnwick Garden yesterday for Halloween, and it was scarily delightful. My kids absolutely love it. I love Alnwick, it’s such a quaint little English town. I’ve visited Alnwick castle and gardens many times, but never for Halloween. If you’re looking for a scary adventure with the family, I’d recommend it.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Halloween without pumpkins, so we had to stop and get some on the way. My daughter wore her super cute ghost buns, and I wore my new cape, naturally. Her hair withstood the whole day out so it’s absolutely child proof.

I loved looking around the poison garden, there were so many stories fitting for Halloween. Botanical murders and historical acts of crime all committed with plants. Educational and delivered with humour, I’d recommend looking around the poison garden.

I got really into gardening this year, so I enjoyed this. It was very witchy the poison garden. We finished the tour with a gorgeous ice cream in the fresh autumn air. The whole spectrum of Autumn colours could be seen on the trees at Alnwick gardens, even if there were ghouls hanging in the trees. My daughter had great fun exploring the grounds while I relaxed and took every ounce of Autumn in.

I even made a little friend. The animals here are so friendly. They’re clearly used to people. I like this photograph. He was a cute little duck. Afterwards we visited Barter Books. A Victorian style book shop in what was once the train station in Alnwick. As we walked in and were greeted with a warm open roaring fire. There’s also a sweet little coffee shop and seats galore, you could spend hours here.

There’s a little train that runs above the books and a lovely section for children. My daughter loved this place. Of course, I’m a writer so sharing books with my kids is important. I felt at peace here. Comfort for the soul. It’s the kind of place you could get lost in. Plus, once you’ve finished reading a book you can take it back and swap it for another one. Perfect.

Here’s a reel of our spooky day out at Alnwick Garden. Of course, you can visit at night if you want. It’s probably a little scarier, with staff dressing up and jumping out to frighten you, but seeing as my daughter is only four, this day trip was more than suitable… There’s also a castle but we decided to go to Barter Books instead.

Thanks for reading,

Soph.